Suderwick town centre development

The idea for the changes in Suderwick - in addition to Suderwick's ageing pipes, which need to be replaced anyway - was influenced by developments in the neighbouring town of Dinxperlo. Since 2020, the Netherlands has been working on the so-called "Centrumsvisie Dinxperlo" - a plan on how the centre of Dinxperlo can be redesigned (see https://centrumdinxpe rlo.nl/). The municipality of Aalten has worked with planning offices to draw up plans for the village square, the avenue and the Hellweg. Part of the Hellweg is even on the German side and leads directly to Sporker Straße. Dinxperlo and Suderwick will therefore be further upgraded up to the state border through a joint redesign of the Hellweg.

Visitors will be able to cross the Hellweg and the avenue to reach the centre of Dinxperlo directly via attractively designed paths. Hotspots will remind visitors of the past and invite them to linger. In this way, the border will be brought to life to a greater extent than was previously the case. Instead of the current crosses on the carriageway, the entire pavement area south of the border will be redesigned and extended.

Centrumsvisie ends in the area of Hellweg, which runs along the border into Sporker Straße. The OKEK therefore ties in with the plans for the Centrumsvisie for the area shown above.

The OKEK is an initial plan of how the centre of Suderwick could be designed in the future. Sporker Strasse, the village square and part of Wiggerstrasse were considered. Two areas were looked at particularly closely: the village square and the section of Sporker Straße between the village square and Hellweg. The focus was therefore also on the route into the centre of Suderwick.

The OKEK design concept brings together many topics: green spaces, environmental and climate protection, traffic and the design of public spaces and much more. Suderwick is not only to become more beautiful - it is also about improving quality of life and climate resilience.

The design concept was developed by the planning office Wolters Partner Stadtplaner GmbH. Citizens were already able to have their say at this stage - for example during a walk through the town followed by a planning round in September 2024, where interested parties were able to contribute their ideas and opinions(https://www.bocholt.de/neuigkeiten/stadtentwicklung/stadtteil-suderwick-soll-(noch)-schoener-werden). This feedback has already been incorporated into the current draft.

There will be further participations in future planning stages. Citizens will continue to be invited to participate in the planning process and contribute their ideas. It is not yet possible to give a concrete timeline for the planning and participation process.

The village square and Sporker Strasse (as an extension of Hellweg) are therefore to become more attractive and inviting. The design is to be based on the plans for the Netherlands in order to emphasise the special location directly on the border. Some design elements from the Centrumsvisie are also to be adopted for Suderwick: For example, pavement and footpath areas could be given red clinker paving in a row pattern based on the Dinxperlo design. A "long bench" could surround planned green areas on Suderwick's village square and invite people to linger - similar to the ones that have now been created in Dinxperlo, for example around the church. This could create a recognition value in both village centres. At the same time, Suderwick's unique character should of course be preserved.

The canals on Sporker Straße between the village square and Hellweg are outdated and will be renewed - an opportunity to make the area even more attractive.

Further planning steps are now required so that the ideas from the OKEK can be realised. This OKEK is initially a design draft. It shows ideas and objectives - for example by drawing in trees that symbolise more greenery. Where exactly trees can be planted will be examined in the next step. The same applies to the car parks: Which car parking spaces can be created in the future or possibly eliminated must be examined in detail.

The current OKEK thus forms the basis on which work will now continue in order to develop a realisable and concrete plan.

At the beginning of 2026, nts Ingenieurgesellschaft mbH from Münster was commissioned to do this. Initially, the plans for the western Sporker Straße, between Hellweg and the junction with Wiggerstraße, and for the village square will be further elaborated and concretised.

Citizen participation remains an important part of the process. For this reason, a public information event was held on 10 February 2016, at which information was provided on the current status and suggestions were taken on board.

The plans were then further refined on this basis. On 24.02.26, the Committee for Planning, Construction and Transport decided to approve the plans and to apply for funding for both measures from the "Structure and Village Development NRW" programme. The applications were submitted at the beginning of March.

While the decision of the funding bodies is still awaited, the plans are already being pushed ahead.

In particular, the village square is to be redesigned to offer a better quality of stay and be adapted to climate change. At the same time, the square should strengthen the village community and offer space for different uses and events.

To ensure that the square meets the needs of Suderwick village life as well as possible, the local associations are currently being asked to comment on the plans from 20/04/2016 to 29/05/2016. Their feedback will help to ensure that events and uses are considered in the best possible way.

In 2027, once the Hellweg has been completed as part of the centre vision, the redesign will also start on the Suderwick side: the renewal of Sporker Straße West will begin at the same time as the civil engineering work, followed by the redesign of the village square. In total, the town is investing around 3.2 million euros in the beautification - ideally supported by funding from the NRW programme "Structure and Village Development".

The active involvement of the people of Suderwick and the surrounding area is particularly important. The aim is to sustainably develop Suderwick as an attractive place to live and a special border town.